Is There Really Support for Breastfeeding Mothers? A Case Study of Ghanaian Breastfeeding Working Mothers

Abigail Opoku Mensah

Abstract

This study was to find out whether the presence or the absence of social support for breastfeeding working mothers who return to work after maternity leave does have any significant effect on their level of satisfaction and also their commitment to their jobs. Three categories of social support were looked at: spousal and family members support, colleagues support at the workplace and support from care givers (house helps). A self administered questionnaire was given to 300 breastfeeding working mothers in Accra, Ghana. This group of mothers had their age range from 24-41 years with the mean age of 37.2 years and standard deviation of 8.8. The hypotheses were tested using Chi Square. The findings of the study revealed that breastfeeding working mothers who had support from their spouse and other family members appeared to be satisfied and committed to their jobs. Those who had support from other colleagues at the workplace reported to be satisfied with their jobs but not committed to their jobs. However, the group of mothers who were getting their child care support from care givers (house helps) appeared less committed to their jobs.

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